System and method providing automated welding information exchange and replacement part order generation

ABSTRACT

A welding and network information system and methodology is provided in accordance with the present invention. The system includes a welder operatively coupled to a server and a network interface to enable a network architecture, the network architecture serving a network that communicates with at least one remote system, wherein the remote system includes at least one remote interface to communicate with the network architecture and provide welding information to a user, wherein the remote system accesses at least one HTTP socket to establish web communications with the welder and loads at least one application from the welder, wherein the remote system accesses at least one Welding Application socket via the at least one application to exchange information between the welder and the remote system, the at least one application includes at least one welding information broker to determine whether the welding information in a local database is to be updated, the user receives the welding information via the remote interface and the local database or the remote interface and the network. The present invention enables automated order and fulfillment of items such as replacement parts and/or welding programs and procedures.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/796,192, which was filed on Feb. 28, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No.6,486,439 entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD PROVIDING AUTOMATED WELDINGINFORMATION EXCHANGE AND REPLACEMENT PART ORDER GENERATION. Thisapplication is also a continuation in part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/770,064, which was filed Jan. 25, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No.6,624,388 entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD PROVIDING DISTRIBUTED WELDINGARCHITECTURE.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to computer and welding systems,and more particularly to a system and method providing local and/orremote technical information transfers to welders via a weld object thatprovides links to the most recent welding operating, training,troubleshooting and servicing information, wherein users maydetermine/select replacement components from the information andautomatically initiate orders associated with a replacement partselection.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Welding systems reside at the core of the modern industrial age. Frommassive automobile assembly operations to automated manufacturingenvironments, these systems facilitate joining in ever more complicatedmanufacturing operations. One such example of a welding system includesan electric arc welding system. This may involve movement of aconsumable electrode, for example, toward a work piece while current ispassed through the electrode and across an arc developed between theelectrode and the work piece. The electrode may be a non-consumable orconsumable type, wherein portions of the electrode may be melted anddeposited on the work piece. Often, hundreds or perhaps thousands ofwelders are employed to drive multiple aspects of an assembly process,wherein sophisticated controllers enable individual welders to operatewithin relevant portions of the process. For example, some of theseaspects relate to control of power and waveforms supplied to theelectrode, movements or travel of a welding tip during welding,electrode travel to other welding points, gas control to protect amolten weld pool from oxidation at elevated temperatures and provideionized plasma for an arc, and other aspects such as arc stability tocontrol the quality of the weld. These systems are often deployed overgreat distances in larger manufacturing environments and many times arespread across multiple manufacturing centers. Given the nature andrequirements of modem and more complex manufacturing operations however,welding systems designers, architects and suppliers face increasingchallenges in regard to upgrading, maintaining, controlling, servicingand supplying various welding locations. Unfortunately, manyconventional welding systems operate in individually controlled andsomewhat isolated manufacturing locations in regard to the overalljoining, fabrication and/or other production process. Thus, controlling,maintaining, servicing and supplying multiple and isolated locations inlarge centers, and/or across the globe, has become more challenging,time consuming and expensive.

One such challenge relates to providing relevant and/or currenttechnical information to welding system operators. This information canbe in a variety of forms such as service manuals, training and operatingmanuals, troubleshooting manuals, schematics, and/or any informationrelating to operating and servicing the welding system. The informationis often stored in document or manual form and generally remainsunchanged after initial shipment and installment of the welding system.If a problem occurs with the welder, or if routine maintenance is to beperformed, and/or if a new/current operator needs more specificinformation to perform new or different welding tasks, this informationgenerally has to be retrieved manually by the operator from a filecabinet or other filing location that may not even be located on theproduction floor. Valuable time is then generally expended searching forthe necessary documents. The time expended may include searching throughdocuments of unrelated welding systems that service other portions ofthe production process. Even after a manual or document location isfound, there is substantially no assurance that the retrieved documentprovides the latest or most recent information for a particular weldingsystem. For example, the welding system may have undergone severalupgrades (e.g., application software enhancements, welding programchanges, weld controller firmware changes, hardware component changes)before an operator needs to perform a service procedure such astroubleshoot and replace a faulty welding component. If an older manualis retrieved that does not reflect the current state of the weldingsystem, however, faulty diagnosis may occur. Consequently, this may leadto expensive troubleshooting costs and other costs relating topurchasing incorrect components that may not in fact be defective. Thus,extra welding system downtime may occur because of incorrect diagnosisand selection of non-defective replacement parts.

Once a component has been determined for replacement by a weld systemoperator or technician, another costly and time-consuming proceduregenerally follows. This involves ordering and purchasing the suspecteddefective component or part. The operator generally has to look-up thepart in a manual, find the related part number, determine who suppliesthe part, and look the part up in a supplier's catalog. When thesupplier has been determined, a phone call or FAX is placed to determineavailability and price information, and then a purchase order isgenerated and transmitted to the supplier to fulfill the order. Assumingthat the part has been entered correctly by the purchaser and processedcorrectly by the supplier, the part may then arrive at the welderwherein a replacement can then occur. Unfortunately, the above processinvolves many time-consuming and manual steps-sometimes involving error.Thus, much time can be expended receiving inadequate or incorrectreplacement parts. If many welders are serviced by many differentoperators in this manner, as is often the case in larger weldingenvironments, these problems become magnified.

Due to the problems described above and other problems associated withconventional welding systems, there is an unsolved need for an improvedwelding architecture to facilitate remote information transfers andparts distribution to multiple welding systems that may be distributedacross large areas or regions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order toprovide a basic understanding of sonic aspects of the present invention.This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It isintended to neither identify key or critical elements of the inventionnor delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to presentsome concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to themore detailed description that is presented later.

The present invention relates to a system and method to provide anautomated transfer of relevant and up-to-date information relating towelding systems and to enable automatic replacement part or weld programorder generation from the information. This is achieved withoutrequiring an operator to perform exhaustive searches for the informationand/or to manually perform conventional steps relating to replacementcomponent purchases and acquisitions. An operator may retrieve andutilize the information via a network architecture/interface to operateand maintain the welding system, for example, wherein the informationmay be associated with troubleshooting, servicing, maintaining, andoperating the welding system. Upon obtaining the relevant information,the operator or user may learn new or current operating proceduresand/or determine replacement components indicated by the retrievedinformation for components that are defective and/or need replacement inthe routine course of maintaining the welding system. Additionally, theuser can automatically order new welder programs or procedures thatcontrol the welding system and process. An automated order generationsystem then enables the operator to initiate replacement componentand/or welder program/procedure purchases based on selections providedin the retrieved information. In this manner, the operator can retrieveinformation associated with the welding system without having to performsearches or physically locate a particular item that may or may notcontain the most recent welding system information. If a component orprogram needs replacement, a component/program purchase canautomatically be triggered by selecting the desired component or programwithin the retrieved information. Thus, errors associated with outdateddocumentation and manually driven purchasing systems are mitigated.

In accordance with the present invention, a welding information brokeris employed to determine the current state of the welding system. Thebroker solicits individual welding components over an internal weldingsystem bus with the current state of one or more of the components thatcontribute to the architecture of a particular welding system. This mayalso include receiving version information relating to the availabilityof the information residing in the welding system. The weldinginformation broker is then linked to a remote network server with anobject list or table of all documentation relating to the particularwelding system as defined by the weld broker. A local data store isexamined according to the list to determine if the documentation is upto date and available locally at the welding system. An interface suchas a browser may then be utilized to view the documentation from thelocal data store. If the documentation is not available locally, adownload may be automatically initiated to transfer the most recentdocumentation to the local data store. Alternatively, the documentationmay be examined by the weld system operator or user at the remotelocation. In such a case, a document pointer may be stored to point tothe remote location.

In the course of utilizing the documentation, the welding systemoperator may learn new welding procedures, perform routine maintenance,and/or troubleshoot the welding system via schematic documentation, forexample. If a part or component is determined for replacement, and/or ifa new welder program/procedure is desired, the welding system operatormay initiate a purchase of the part or program by selecting (e.g., mouseclick) the part within the documentation. This is achieved by linkingthe welding broker to a remote inventory and distribution system andupdating the broker with purchasing information relating to the weldingsystem, the selected part and associated part suppliers. Based on thepurchasing information associated with the welding system, a purchaseorder may be automatically generated and transmitted to the supplier,wherein the order may then be automatically fulfilled without utilizingconventional manual ordering processes (e.g., typing orders, phoningsuppliers, looking up parts in catalogs). Automated ordering of welderprograms or procedures may be similarly initiated.

The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detailcertain illustrative aspects of the invention. These aspects areindicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which theprinciples of the invention may be employed and the present invention isintended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Otheradvantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description of the invention when considered inconjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an automated weldinginformation and parts distribution architecture in accordance with anaspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary weldingnetwork information and part acquisition system in accordance with anaspect of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart diagram illustrating local or remote weldinginformation transfers in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a welding interface andparts ordering system in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart diagram illustrating an automated parts orderingprocess in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart diagram illustrating an automated welder programordering process in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a more detailed networkinterface and communications architecture in accordance with an aspectof the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an integrated weldinginterface in accordance with an aspect of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a welding securitysystem in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and methodology to provide adistributed welding architecture wherein a plurality of welders and/orother remote systems provide automated information exchange and orderingvia a higher-level network architecture adapted to the welding process.As used in this application, “system” is a structure comprising one ormore components. A “component” is a structure comprising computerhardware and/or software. For example, a component can be, but is notlimited to, a computer readable memory encoded with softwareinstructions or a computer configured to carry out specified tasks. Byway of illustration, both an application program stored in computerreadable memory and a server on which the application runs can becomponents. Due to the nature of components, multiple components can beintermingled and are often not separate from one another. Systems canlikewise be intermingled and inseparable.

The present invention relates to a system and method to provide weldingsystem information to welding operators via a network server and awelding information broker(s) to determine and load the most recentwelding system information. The information may include documentationsuch as operating and service manuals, and include informationassociated with the welding process and procedures that can be employedas an interactive training tool for welding operators/users, forexample. Remote diagnostic assistance can be provided that interactswith maintenance personnel prompting them to check various components inthe welding system while providing test procedures and suitabletechnical documentation such as machine schematics. Testing andcalibration of the welding system can also be provided along withscheduled system maintenance, service and downtime via the interactiveprocess. The network server links the welding system to remote order,inventory and distribution servers in order that replacement componentsor other items such as welder procedures in a downloadable programformat can automatically be ordered as a result of interactiveprocesses. Orders may be initiated, for example, by selecting componentsand/or welder programs from the retrieved welding system information. Anoperator can initiate a purchase order by selecting thecomponent/procedure via a networked user interface and from a pluralityof locally and/or remotely retrieved documents.

A network server and associated interface are operatively coupled to awelder to enable remote information exchange and automated ordering ofthe present invention. The network server executes a plurality offunctional objects to interact with various portions of the weldingprocess. These objects may be invoked from a remote system via networksockets adapted to the welder and associated with the network server andthe objects. The remote system and/or other welding system may“bootstrap” components and/or applications for interacting with thefunctional objects (e.g., weld controller, monitor, communicationstasks, applets) provided by the network server.

The network server may also include interacting with web pages forexample, and may provide access to a remote system/browser and/or localbrowser to interface with the welder. The remote system includes atleast one standard socket (e.g., HTTP) for web communications and atleast one custom socket (e.g., Welding Application Socket) to exchangeinformation between the welder and the remote system. For example, thestandard socket can be an HTTP socket, an FTP socket, a TELNET socket,and/or other network socket. It is noted that the terms “web” and “http”are substantially interchangeable, however, “web” does not include FTPor TELNET which are separate protocols. The standard socket enables theremote system to load a variety of applications and/or tools thatfacilitate system performance and access to the applications and/ortools. For example, the applications may invoke or bootstrap WeldingApplication sockets that encapsulate a welding system's nativeaddressing and command arguments, wherein suitable routing and requestarguments may be served by a welder's native network and operatingsystem. The network may employ User Datagram Protocol (UDP) protocol,wherein a client system may proxy requests over the socket to/from awelder's native system. The welder's native system may include one ormore control processors and a native welding Local Area Network (LAN)connecting the control processors with one or more logical processesand/or “objects” executing on the control processor. A database providesaccess to methods/properties exhibited by each object.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a system 10 illustrates an automatedwelding information parts and welder program distribution architecturein accordance with an aspect of the present invention. The system 10includes a welding system 20, one or more other welding systems.depicted as welding system 24, and welding system M 28, M being aninteger, that are operatively coupled via a local network 30. One ormore remote interfaces 32 and 34 (e.g., web browser) interact with thewelding systems 20-28 across the network 30 and enables a weldingoperator or user to service, maintain and/or update the welding systems.This is achieved by providing relevant welding system information, suchas operating guides and training information, to the welding operator atthe remote interfaces 32 and/or 34. The welding information iscommunicated from the welding system 20 to the remote interfaces 32, 34by a server and network interface 46 and may include a web server thatopens network sockets (not shown) to transmit the welding information.The welding information may be provided from a local information store50 (e.g., database) and/or from a technical information server 54 thatresides on a remote network 56 such as the Internet. It is noted thatthe local information store 50 can reside within the welding systems20-28 and/or reside as a separate entity on the local network 30. Thelocal network 30 may be connected to the remote network 56 via a LocalArea Network (LAN) bridge connection (not shown), however, it is to beappreciated that a single network may service the system 10.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, one or morewelding information brokers 60 are employed to facilitate retrieval ofthe most recent welding information at the remote interfaces 32 and 34.The welding information broker 60, which can be a component and/orobject and executed/instantiated by the server and network interface 46and/or can operate as a separate entity 61 (e.g., local or remotecomputer) on the local network 30 or remote network 56, interrogates alocal bus 64 to determine the particular hardware components and/orsoftware that define the welding system 20. These components may includeweld control hardware 68 that controls associated welding equipment 70,wherein the welding equipment 70 is the physical hardware producing theweld such as a wire feeder, contact tip, dresser, gas mixer, gassneezer, gas controller, clamp actuator, travel carriage/partmanipulator, robot arm/beam/torch manipulator, laser seam tracker, otherinput/output devices and welding power source (not shown). The weldcontrol hardware 68 may include a weld controller (not shown), anarc/weld monitor (not shown), and weld I/O and communications interface(not shown) to control the welding equipment 70. The local bus 64provides component version information, such as a revision number orcode, to indicate the particular components that arc included in thewelding system 20. When welding technical information is requested bythe remote interfaces 32 or 34, the welding information broker 60 and/or61 is linked (e.g., associated with a domain name of a websitecontaining welder technical documents) to the technical informationserver 54 to determine welding information that is applicable to thewelding system 20.

The link may include updating the broker with list or table of codesindicating one or more most recent document version numbers or codesassociated with the component version codes contained within the weldinginformation broker 60. The broker examines document revision levels(e.g., level 2 versus level 3) within the local information store 50 todetermine if the version levels are at a similar level as the updateddocument version levels within the welding information broker 60. If theinformation in the local information store 50 is at an older or lowerrevision, the welding information broker 60 and/or 61 can initiate adownload of the latest technical information from the technicalinformation server 54 to the local information store 50.

It is noted, that before the download, the welding information broker60, 61 can check/compare the compatibility of a new or updated versiondocument with the existing hardware, and/or check compatibility withother software that coexists therewith, and/or with other weldingprograms/procedures that coexist. The broker also may check/verifycertification requirements to determine if new upgrades will affect thewelding procedure certification and if the welding procedure should bere-certified. Alternatively, the broker can obtain approval from aresponsible party of the welding system 20-28 before the initiation ofthe download. As an alternative to the download, the welding operator oruser may choose to view the latest technical information remotely fromthe technical information server 54. By establishing the link betweenthe weld information broker 60 and the technical information server 54,relevant and up-to-date-welding information is retrieved automaticallywithout causing the operator to search for the information or determineif the information is current. In this manner, much time is saved overconventional welding systems.

After the welding information is retrieved from the local informationstore 50 or the technical information server 54, the welding operatormay interactively operate, service, and maintain the welding system 20via the remote interface 32 and/or 34 and the retrieved information.This may include providing training or servicing procedures from thelocal information store 50 and performing troubleshooting via weldingdiagrams such as schematics, for example. If it is determined that ahardware component needs to be replaced as part of routine servicing ortroubleshooting, and/or if a new welder program/procedure is desired,the welding operator may initiate an automatic order of the component orprogram/procedure by selecting (e.g., mouse click part on a schematic)the component/program from the remote interface 32, 34. As will bedescribed in more detail below, the welding information broker 60 can belinked to an inventory and distribution system 74 wherein component andsupplier information (e.g., part numbers, supplier address, price,shipping terms) are updated within the broker and associated with thehardware, software, and/or other version codes within the broker. Anordering system 76 (e.g., remote server) linked to the weldinginformation broker 60 provides purchase history and related informationfor the welding system 20. The ordering system 76 includes informationrelating to an entity that purchased the welding system 20, billing andshipping addresses for the entity, and credit information concerningaccount status and warranty information associated with the weldingsystem 20 and the entity. For example, if a replacement component isunder warranty, a flag may be set within the ordering system 76indicating that no charge is to be accessed relating to the replacementcomponent. The ordering system 76 and the information contained thereinenables automatic acquisition of the selected replacement component bylinking the entity's billing, shipping and warranty information with thewelding information broker 60, thus mitigating manual purchase ordergeneration and negotiations involved with conventional welding systems.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a system 90 illustrates an exemplary weldingnetwork information and part acquisition system in accordance with thepresent invention. The system 90 includes the welding information broker60 that can access/retrieve version information via the local weldingsystem bus 64. The local bus 64 may include a Controller Area Network(CAN) employing Arc Links or other protocols, for example, thatcommunicates to welding system components such as a power supply 92, awire feeder 94, a control system 96 and the welding equipment 70. Theinformation received from the welding system components may includemanufacturing history information or codes, machine type codes, modeland serial numbers or codes, and/or software and hardware versionnumbers or codes. It is to be appreciated that other descriptiveinformation or codes may be received from the welding system components70, 92-96 and/or other welding components (not shown). After the weldinginformation broker 60 is updated, links are established with thetechnical information server 54 (e.g., connect to a predetermined URL).The version information contained within the welding information brokeris then utilized to search for all documents and information within thetechnical information server 54. The search is constrained by thetechnical information server 54 to include documents defined by theversion information within the broker.

The welding information broker 60 is updated/compared with the technicalinformation server 54 to reflect the latest document version levelsrelating to the welding components on the local bus 64 or othercomponents within the welding system 20. The broker then compares thedocument version levels with document version levels that are storedlocally at the local information store 50. If the latest documentversion is available locally, a browser 98 is served with the localwelding information from the local information store 50. As describedabove, if the local information is at an older or lower version level,the welding information broker 60 initiates a download afterverification of the version levels (e.g., requesting particularinformation or programs at more recent revision level) from thetechnical information server 54 or provides the welding operator anoption to view the documents or programs remotely from the browser 98.As described above, it is to be appreciated that local information store50 and/or the welding information broker 60 can be executed within thewelding system 20 and/or as a separate entity operatively coupled to thewelding system.

When the most recent welding information has been located and providedto the browser 98, the welding operator/user may proceed to service,operate, and/or troubleshoot the welding system 20 from the retrievedinformation. This may include following procedures or diagrams thatindicate potential replacement components within the welding system 20.Additionally, the welding system may need to adapt to a different typeof welding process. Thus, the operator or user may automaticallyinitiate a purchase and subsequent download of a suitable welder programor procedure to re-configure the welding system 20. A user input 100such as a mouse, keyboard, touch screen or other suitable device enablesthe welding operator to select a desired replacement component orprocedure. If a component/procedure is selected for replacement, acomponent number or code associated with the component/procedure islinked the remote inventory and distribution system (IDS) 74 via thebroker 60. The IDS 74 that may include information such as bill ofmaterial and supplier information (e.g., Enterprise Resource Planningsystem) interacts with the welding information broker 60 and determinesa suitable replacement part via a receiving component 104. This mayinclude querying an ordering component 102 and supplier parts database(e.g., service or spare parts) and/or network 108 for relevantpurchasing information. The purchasing information may include, suppliernames and addresses, price, availability, delivery terms, payment termsand/or other information relating to acquiring a replacement component.The purchasing information may also include billing, shipping, address,order history and warranty information/status associated with apurchaser/owner of the welding system 20.

The receiving component 104 provides the welding information broker 60with the purchasing information and notifies (e.g., flag, e-mail) thebroker that purchasing information related to the selected component orprocedure from the browser 98 is available. The welding informationbroker 60 then invokes the ordering system 102 to generate an electronicpurchase order utilizing the purchasing information within the broker.For example, the ordering system 102 may access the selected part numberwithin the broker 60, update (e.g., output part/supplier/purchaser datato a file) an electronic purchase order with supplier address, price,terms and shipping information that includes the address of the owner ofthe welding system 20. The ordering system 102 then submits a completedpurchase order to a fulfillment component 116 associated with the IDS74. The fulfillment component 116 inputs/reads the purchase order,determines whether any warranty or other actions apply to the purchaseorder, and transmits the purchase order to the replacement part-supplier(e.g. e-mail, on-line service). Notice may also be sent to the weldingoperator indicating that an order has been placed and when delivery isexpected. It is noted that automatic replacement part or welderprocedure ordering is initiated at the user input level, such as fromthe browser 98 and can be from a single user action such as a keystrokeor mouse click within an associated technical manual or documentviewable on the browser 98.

FIGS. 3, 5 and 6 described below, illustrate a methodology for providingvarious aspects of a welding information transfer and parts acquisitionarchitecture in accordance with the present invention. While, forpurposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodology is shown anddescribed as a series of acts, it is to be understood and appreciatedthat the present invention is not limited by the number or order ofacts, as some acts may, in accordance with the present invention, occurin different orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from thatshown and described herein. For example, those skilled in the art willunderstand and appreciate that a methodology could alternatively berepresented as a series of interrelated states, such as in a statediagram. Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implementa methodology in accordance with the present invention.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a methodology provides welding informationtransfer in accordance with the present invention. Beginning at 130, aweld object or broker is registered by querying local welding componentsand receiving version information such as revision levels or codes thatindicate the current version of a welding system. At 134, links areestablished with a remote server to search for information relating tothe version information in the weld object. This may include updating atable or list within the weld object to indicate the most recentdocument or stored welder program version levels associated with thecomponents identified in the weld object. At 138, a determination ismade as to whether the most recent welding information is contained in alocal information server or in a remote information server. This may beachieved by comparing document/program version levels within the weldobject to document/program version levels at the local informationserver, for example. If information is available locally, the processproceeds to 140 wherein information is retrieved from the localinformation server. If the information is not available locally, theprocess proceeds to 142 and retrieves information from a remoteinformation server. From either 140 or 142, the process proceeds to 144wherein a determination is made as to whether a replacement component orprogram/procedure has been selected from the retrieved information at140 and 142. If a replacement component or program has been selected,the process proceeds to 146 and automatically generates a purchaseorder. If a replacement component or program has not been selected at144, the process proceeds to 148 wherein a weld operator or user mayutilize the retrieved information to maintain and service the weldingsystem.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a system 160 illustrates a welding interface inaccordance with the present invention. The system 160 includes a browser162 that may be in the form of a graphical user interface (GUI) havingan associated menu bar 164 for viewing and manipulating retrievedinformation from local or remote server systems. The browser 162 mayinclude a display 168 to view substantially any type of informationrelating to a welding system. For example, this information may includeweld operator manuals, operating procedures, welder programs/procedures,service information and interactive troubleshooting information to trainand inform the welding operator. The display 168 may include a listing174 of available documents, wherein further information is obtained byselecting a document or procedure and “drilling down” to more detailedmenus. For example, an operator procedures menu is illustrated atreference numeral 178, wherein a series of 1 to I steps or acts, I beingan integer, may be provided to guide or train a welding operator. Awelder programs/procedures menu 182 illustrates one or more weldingprograms or procedures that can be downloaded to change the behavior ofthe welding system. Consequently, this enables the welding system to beadaptable to operate with different weld materials, components. and/orjoining configurations, for example. A schematic or other diagram 184may be provided wherein 1 to J welding parts or components, J being aninteger, are diagrammatically displayed. Another menu 186 provides amore detailed listing of welding documents 1 through K, K being aninteger, that may be selected and opened for viewing via a mouse clickor other operator input, for example.

As documents, procedures or diagrams are displayed, welding components,parts, programs, and/or part or catalog numbers may be selected from thedisplayed menu by the welding operator to automatically generate andfulfill a parts acquisition as described above. For example, a singlemouse “click” on a part designated as PJ in the schematic 182 cangenerate an order by invoking the welding information broker, linkingthe broker to a remote inventory and distribution receiving component,retrieving purchasing information, submitting the purchasing informationto an ordering system to generate a purchase order, and fulfilling theorder by submitting the generated purchase order to a fulfillmentcomponent associated with the inventory and distribution system. As analternative, the browser 162 may be configured to cause a selectedcomponent to display supplier information, wherein a particular supplieris selected before automatically generating a purchase order. Forexample, a more detailed menu 190 may be displayed when selecting thepart PJ. This menu 190 may display substantially all the suppliers whosupply a given component, availability of the component, component priceinformation such as net30 and entitlement to wholesale/distributorpricing, shipping information such as FOB destination or FOB city ofshipment, as well as other supplier information. Based upon theinformation presented in the menu 190, the welding operator can limitthe generated purchase order to a supplier who most closely representsdesired requirements such as how fast a component may be shipped and/orhow much cost will the shipment entail. After selecting a supplier, apurchase order may be generated and fulfilled as described above. It isto be appreciated that a plurality of other menus, information formats,and information presentations may be displayed in accordance with thepresent invention.

Turning to FIG. 5, a methodology illustrates automatic parts acquisitionin accordance with the present invention. At 200, a parts request isreceived by a remote server system. The parts request may include theselected part and includes information pertaining to the particularwelding system associated with a weld object or broker. At 204,purchasing information is acquired relating to the selected componentand/or other information within the welding system(s). The weld objectis then updated with purchasing information. Additionally, warrantyinformation associated with the selected part is checked to determine ifthe part should be supplied under warranty without cost to the purchaseror if the requested part should be billed according to cost of therequested part. At 208, a purchase order is automatically generated froma welding system that utilizes the purchasing information contained inthe weld object or broker. At 212, an order is fulfilled by receivingthe purchase order generated at 208 and determining a relevant supplierof the selected replacement component. At 216, a supplier is notified ofthe purchase order by transmitting the purchase order to the supplier.This may include e-mail or other electronic file transfers of thepurchase order to the supplier. At 220, based on the warranty status ofthe requested part, a service shop or distributor may be notified todeliver the requested part.

FIG. 6 illustrates welder program ordering, configuration andadaptability aspects of the present invention. For example, if a new ordifferent welding program or procedure is desired, the program may berequested by an operator, weld engineer or other user via a singleaction such as a mouse click. As an example, a welding program can beprovided in a program list such as described above in FIG. 4, wherein aprogram may be selected and ordered similarly to the automated partsordering process described above. To fulfill a program order, the usermay then select (e.g., mouse click, keystroke) the desired program to bedownloaded, wherein the welding information broker is updated with newversion information of the downloaded program. Referring to 230 in FIG.6, a program request is received by a remote server system. The programrequest may include the selected programs and includes informationpertaining to the particular welding system associated with the weldinginformation broker. At 234, purchasing information is acquired relatingto the selected program and/or other information within the broker. Thebroker is then updated with purchasing information. At 238, a purchaseorder is automatically generated from a welding system that utilizes thepurchasing information contained in the broker. At 242, the selectedprogram is downloaded to the welding system. This can occur after theselected program is tested on the weldments under production andapproval of a procedure qualification process.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a system 300 illustrates a more detailednetwork communications architecture in accordance with the presentinvention. A welding system 304 may include a web server 308 thatprovides information exchange with a remote system 310. The remotesystem 310 may include a browser 312 that communicates with the webserver 308. Welding information may be exchanged via web pages and/orcontent included within a database 314 associated with the web server308. Web content may include but is not limited to such technologies asHTML, SHTML, VB Script, JAVA, CGI Script, JAVA Script, dynamic HTML,PPP, RPC, TELNET, TCP/IP, FTP, ASP, XML, PDF, WML as well as otherformats. The browser 312 which can reside in the remote system 310 orother welding systems, communicates with the web server 308 via one ormore sockets 318 and loads one or more objects such as an applet 322.

It is noted that each object or applet 322 may be associated with one ormore sockets 318. As an example, the browser 312 may load a web page orother application from the welding server 308 via a public domain orstandard socket such as a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) socket, aFile Transfer Protocol (FTP) socket, a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol(SMTP) socket, a Remote Procedure Call (RPC) socket, a Remote MethodInvocation (RMI) socket, a Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) socket, anOpen Database Connectivity (ODBC) socket, a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)socket, a Network File System (NFS) socket, a Windows socket such asWinsock, a Point-of-Presence 3 (POP3) socket and a TELNET socket. Theweb page may then enable other welding applications to be invoked andcommunicated with by opening or “bootstrapping” additional sockets 318from a pool of public domain and/or custom sockets that interact withspecific components and/or functionality within the welding system 304.

For example, the applet 322 may be configured to monitor weldingcomponents that communicate via a native welding system bus (not shown).When the applet 322 is invoked and loaded from the remote system eitherfrom the browser 312 and/or from another application, a WeldingApplication socket, such as a custom socket, and/or other public domainsocket may be instantiated to exchange weld monitoring informationbetween the applet 322 and the remote system 310. The WeldingApplication Socket (WAS) can be adapted to exchange a welding protocolbetween the remote system 310 and the welding system 304. Additionally,the WAS may be adapted to communicate with particular aspects and/orapplications associated with the welding system (e.g., weldingequipment, weld controller, weld monitor, consumable usage monitor) overan internal welding system bus, wherein the applications interact andcommunicate via the WAS to other local systems (e.g., web serversoperatively coupled via a factory Intranet) and/ or to remote systems(e.g., browsers, monitors, controllers operatively couple via theInternet).

The applet 322 (e.g., JAVA applet) may run within the browser 312 toexchange information with the welding system 304. A JAVA Virtual Machine(JVM) may be included to run the browser 312 and execute the applets322. JAVA Virtual Machines are a software implementation of a “virtualCPU” designed to run compiled JAVA code. This may include stand-aloneJAVA applications as well as the applets 322 that are downloaded to runthe browser 312. The applet 322 can further be configured to transmitwelding operating data (e.g., arc start failure counts, consumable usagedata, equipment utilization up/down time) to the manufacturer of thewelding equipment, receive and display information (e.g., advertising,program upgrade, and product recall or upgrade new product introduction,and applications and service support) from the manufacturer. The applet322 can also be adapted not to function (e.g., closes, sends errormessages) unless the applet detects the presence of a welding powersupply and/or other portion of the welding system from a namedmanufacturer and/or the presence of an Internet connection to thewelding equipment manufacturer's data server.

Along with the applet 322 for serving the browser 312, the web server308 may invoke other objects or programs for interfacing to a weldcontrol system and associated welding equipment 326. For example, theseprograms may include an e-mail component 328 for sending unsolicitedand/or other messages to the remote system 310. A communicationscomponent 330 may be provided to transfer files to or from the database314. For example, a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) component may beprovided to transfer files. As described above, the socket 318interfaces with a TCP/IP stack 334 that may be associated with severallayers. The layers transfer data to and from a network interface 340that couples to the network 40. It is noted that logic from one or moreof the layers may be incorporated within the network interface 340 andthat more than one socket 318 may be employed to communicate withvarious objects within the welding system 304. For example, a streamsocket may be employed that provides an end-to-end, connection-orientedlink between two sockets utilizing TCP protocol. Another type socket isa datagram socket that is a connectionless service that utilizes UserDatagram Protocol (UDP). UDP services are well suited to burstingtraffic patterns and are employed to send control commands from theremote system 310 to the welding system 304. UDP enables a plurality ofwelding systems to receive control commands in a more concurrent manner.

As described above, the TCP/IP stack 334, which is well understood, maybe associated with one or more other network layers. A physical layer364 may be provided that defines the physical characteristics such aselectrical properties of the network interface 340. A data-link layer366 defines rules for sending information across a physical connectionbetween systems. The TCP/IP stack 334 may include a network layer 368,which may include Internet protocol (IP) and/or Internet Protocolversion 6 (IPv6), defines a protocol for opening and maintaining a pathon the network 40. A transport layer 370 associated with the TCP/IPstack 334, may include Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), thatprovides a higher level of control for moving information betweensystems. This may include more sophisticated error handling,prioritization, and security features. A session layer 372, presentationlayer 374, and application layer 378 which are well understood may alsobe optionally included that sit above the TCP/IP stack 334.

It is noted that the server 308 can be a web server or an HTTP server,wherein an application loaded from the welding system 304 to the remotesystem 310 can be a Java applet or a Java application, for example. Theapplication may request web pages (e.g., HTML documents) from thewelding system 304 via an HTTP socket, wherein the web pages aredynamically generated by the welding system 304 and may include livewelder operating parameters. The web pages may be parsed by theapplication to extract welder operating parameters, wherein theoperating parameters can be displayed graphically within the browser312, processed by an algorithm, and/or recorded into a log file.Additionally, one or more URLs associated with the web pages may includecommands, parameter settings changes, and/or instructions or functionsto be executed by the welding system 304, when the web pages arerequested by the remote system 310.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a system 400 illustrates an alternative aspectof the present invention. According to this aspect of the invention, aJava Virtual Machine 404 and associated browser 408 may be includedwithin the welding system 304 to provide a local interface to one ormore remote welding systems 24-28 and/or remote system 410. This enablesan operator, for example, to load welding information from othersystems, monitor/diagnose the local system 304 and/or other systems andsend/receive orders from other systems. As illustrated, the JAVA VirtualMachine 404 may execute a JAVA application or program 409 andcommunicate to a socket 412. The socket 412 may be configured tointerface between the JAVA applications/applets and the TCP/IP stack 334to enable network communications.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a system 800 illustrates a welding and networksecurity system in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.Given that welding information may be transferred over public networkssuch as the Internet, the system 800 provides encrypted datacommunications along with authentication and authorization servicesbetween a remote system 806 and one or more other welding systems 808.The remote system 806 may include a remote server 810 to communicatewith a network server 812, database 814, and associated weld components816 within the welding system 808. Authentication refers to adetermination that a purported user or system is whom they claim to be.Authorization is the process of verifying that a user or system has beenauthorized by the welding system 808 to access welding system resources.Encryption is the conversion of data into a form, such as a ciphertest,that is not easily understood by unauthorized agents.

According to one aspect of the present invention, authentication,authorization, and non-repudiation may be established utilizing one ormore of the following protocols. A Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) andX.509 Public Key Infrastructure Certificates may be employed to provideauthentication and message integrity. A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) andSecure HTTP (SHTTP) may be employed to provide authentication and dataencryption, wherein proprietary authentication and authorizationtechniques may be employed utilizing either publicly availableencryption algorithms or those of custom design. These protocols, withthe exception of those based on a custom design, are readily understoodby those of ordinary skill in the art. They are defined inspecifications provided in the Request for Comments (RFC) documents fromthe Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and in other sources.

According to another aspect of the present invention, encryption may beestablished utilizing one or more of the following protocols. Forexample, a PGP, S/MIME protocol may be employed to provide encryptedemail. An SSH and/or SSH2 protocol may be utilized to provide encryptedterminal sessions, wherein an Internet Protocol Security (IPSEC)protocol may be employed to provide data encryption. Cloaking techniquesmay also be employed utilizing either publicly available encryptionalgorithms and/or those of custom design. These protocols, with theexception those based on a custom design, are readily understood bythose of ordinary skill in the art. They are defined in specificationsprovided in the appropriate Request for Comments (RFC) documents fromthe Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and in other sources.

The system 800 includes an Authentication and Authorization (AA)subsystem 820 and 822 for securing network traffic 838 between systems806 and 808. The system 800 may also include weld policy modules 824 and826 to enable configuration of the AA subsystems 820 and 822. The weldpolicy modules 824 and 826 may also provide security configurationinformation to encryption drivers 830 and 832 that communicate viaTCP/IP drivers 834 and 836 thereby enabling secure network traffic 838between the systems 806 and 808. A negotiation 842 may be initiatedbetween the AA subsystems 820 and 822 in order to establish a machinelevel and/or user level trust between the systems. It is to beappreciated that other negotiations may occur between the remote system806 and the welding system 808. These negotiations may be utilized toestablish a secure (e.g., encrypted) data channel 846, for example,between the TCP/IP drivers 834 and 836.

The weld policy modules 824 and 826, retrieve a configured set of localsecurity policies (e.g., from database or local cache) and distributeauthentication and security settings to the AA modules 820, 822, and tothe encryption Drivers 830,832. The security policies may be employed todefine the levels of security and access provided to the welding system808. For example, these policies may define access based upon the typeof user. A systems engineer or supervisor, for example, may be grantedaccess to all portions of the welding system 808 such as to enableconfigurations and or modifications within the welding system. Incontrast, an operator, may be granted another type of security, whereinonly those portions of the welding system 808 may be accessed to enableactual machine and/or manufacturing operations associated with thewelding process. Welding policies may also be configured such that thetype of machine, network access and/or location defines the level ofaccess to the welding system 808. For example, local systemscommunicating over a local factory Intranet may be given a higher degreeof access to the welding system than remote systems communicating fromoutside the factory over the Internet. It is to be appreciated that manyother policies and/or rule sets may be configured to define user,machine, and/or location access to the welding system 808.

What has been described above are various aspects of the presentinvention. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivablecombination of components or methodologies for purposes of describingthe present invention, but one of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the presentinvention are possible. Accordingly, the present invention is intendedto embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fallwithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A welding and network information system,comprising: a welder operatively coupled to a network interface, thenetwork interface communicates to at least one of a local database and aremote database; and at least one welding information broker todetermine whether welding information in the at least one of the localdatabase and the remote database is applicable to a current weldingoperation, the welding information broker initiates at least one networkrequest based upon one or more information requests from the currentwelding operation.
 2. The system of claim 1, the welding informationbroker initiates the at least one network request based upon at leastone of an automatic determination and a manual request.
 3. The system ofclaim 2, the at least one of the automatic determination and the manualrequest is initiated as part of at least one of a training procedure, amaintenance procedure, a troubleshooting procedure, a manufacturingprocedure, a replacement procedure and purchasing procedure.
 4. Thesystem of claim 2, the network request is communicated across theInternet.
 5. The system of claim 3, the at least one of the automaticdetermination and the manual request is initiated in accordance with atleast one of a web site, a web page, a web service and a web browser. 6.The system of claim 2, the automatic determination is based uponsearching the local database for the welding information as applied tothe current welding operation and initiating the network request to theremote database if the welding information is unavailable in the localdatabase.
 7. The system of claim 2, the automatic determination is basedupon comparing at least one revision level in the local database with afile received from the remote database.
 8. The system of claim 7, thefile is an XML file describing current revision levels.
 9. The system ofclaim 2, a graphical user interface (GUI) to enable at least one of theprocedures.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the welding informationbroker is associated with at least one of a welding system on a localnetwork and outside a welding system as an entity on a network.
 11. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the welding information includes at least oneof an operator manual, a troubleshooting procedure, a replacementcomponent and a service manual.
 12. The system of claim 11, furthercomprising a web page to select the replacement component from at leastone of the operator manual, the troubleshooting procedure, and theservice manual.
 13. The system of claim 12, the replacement component ispurchased and acquired from the web page.
 14. The system of claim 11,further comprising an ordering, receiving, and fulfillment component toautomatically acquire the replacement component.
 15. The system of claim1, further comprising a configuration protocol to enable configurationof the welding information broker.
 16. The system of claim 15, theconfiguration protocol transmits at least one of a manufacturing historyversion, software version, firmware version, hardware type, serialnumber and model number.
 17. The system of claim 1, further comprising asecurity component to facilitate communications over the networkinterface.
 18. A method to retrieve welder information, comprising:registering at least one welding broker with version informationrelating to a welding system; determining if welding system informationresides in a remote information server or in a local information severvia the at least one welding broker; and retrieving the welding systeminformation from at least one of the remote information server and thelocal information server depending on the version information within thewelding broker.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising at leastone of: processing the welding system information via web services;displaying manuals to provide guidance in the operation or service of awelding system; utilizing the welding system information to troubleshootthe welding system; and identifying replacement components from thewelding system information.
 20. The method of claim 18, furthercomprising at least one of: receiving an electronic request from awelding system; generating an order from the electronic request;fulfilling the generated order; and notifying a subsequent party inaccordance with the generated order.
 21. The method of claim 20, furthercomprising at least one of, displaying a status for the electronicrequest; and displaying an option to satisfy the electronic request. 22.A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions forexecuting at least a portion of the method of claim
 18. 23. A system toretrieve welder information, comprising: means for determining versioninformation rotating to a welding system; means for determining if atleast one of local welding information and remote welding information isavailable for the welding system; and means for acquiring the at leastone of the local welding information and the remote welding informationdepending on the version information.
 24. The system of claim 23,further comprising means for initiating a remote transaction.
 25. Asignal for communicating between welding systems, comprising: the signalhaving a data packet comprising: a first data field having versioninformation relating to welding information; and a second data fieldrelating to a request for the welding information.
 26. An automatedwelding information and part acquisition system comprising: a weldercoupled to a network interface that communicates to at least one of alocal and remote database; at least one welding information broker todetermine whether welding information in the at least one local databaseand the remote database is applicable to a present welding operation,the welding information broker initiates at least one network requestbased upon one or more information requests from the current weldingoperation; and a web page to select and purchase a replacement componentfrom welding information including at least one of an operator manual, atroubleshooting procedure, and a service manual.
 27. The system of claim26, further comprising an ordering, receiving and fulfillment componentto automatically acquire the replacement component.